Pliny the Younger, the man, was Pliny the Elder’s nephew and adopted son. They lived nearly 2,000 years ago! Pliny the Elder is our Double IPA, so we felt it was fitting to name our Triple IPA after his son. It is almost a true Triple IPA with triple the amount of hops as a regular I.P.A. That said, it is extremely difficult, time and space consuming, and very expensive to make. And that is why we don’t make it more often! This beer is very full-bodied with tons of hop character in the nose and throughout. It is also deceptively well-balanced and smooth.

In my opinion, the Younger is a stronger, hoppier (both are ridiculous) Elder. Nose is slightly more tropical and grapefruity than Elder. There is also a little more candi-cookie sweetness than the Elder. With a slightly lighter feeling body, deceptively, yet equally smooth and dry and refreshing. So fresh and delicious, a true ode to the hops.

Growler shared by jerz at Woodshop 5.0. Pours a clear gold with an orange tinge and a creamy dense white head. Aroma is hugely pineappley/grapefruity with vanilla and a piney herbal character. Flavor is very herbal and bitter, lots of resins for sure. Sweetness comes through only in an orange/lychee hoppiness. Malt? What malt? We don't need no stinkin malt. Even if there was a pound of peated malt in this I wouldn't be able to taste it through the absurd hop whirlwind. I think I used the word "whirlwind" in my PTE review too now that I think about it. Whatever, this beer pulverizes. I'll rerate next year off a proper pint.

On tap at Abbey Pub in Bend...Personal thanks to Geoff for bring this on!

A: Pours a beautiful golden yellow with hints of tangerine and a rich frothy two finger creamy white head that hung around for quite some time and left very nice lacing as it fell.

S: Smells of ripe juicy grapefruit and a hint of pine, incredibly fresh and balanced, just a hint of the malt, and above all else...fresh!

T: Follows the nose, interestingly enough I think the elder has a little more bang for your buck, but what makes this incredible is the balance and smoothness of the flavor profile and the unbelievable fact that this is 11% abv. You never even dream that this beer is that high in abv.

M: Medium light body with smooth carbonation and again no sense of the abv, very crisp and very fresh.

D: This is one of the factors that sets this beer apart from others. As you drink this it goes down so smooth and you have no clue that it is 11%. Absolute perfection for drinkability.

Sampled at a local tasting in St. Louis, big thanks to hooliganlife for bring 2 growlers.

A - Pretty typical of an IPA/DIPA, yellow-orange in color with a tightly dense white head that faded after a minute or so, a peek through the glass showed little hop chunks, awesome.

S - Huge grapefruit and citrus, but pretty one note. Best described as mild grapefruit juice.

T - Great DIPA, lots of citrus like the nose, good amount of malt, maybe some honey like flavors, little bit of pine and black pepper. What stands out to me the most about the beer is the bitterness, alot of DIPA are too syrupy and can't hold back all that sugary sweetness, this one stikes a good balance.

M - Mild mouthfeel, not too watery but has enough body to hold up to the taste.

D - Great great drinkability, hides the 11% perfectly although I was good at one glass.

I gotta say, I'm glad to have tried it. I was really hoping for a life changing event, but alas it was just a really good DIPA and nothing more, I'd be happy to try it again, but at least I know not to get all worked up over future releases.

A secret tapping at Teresas Next Door on 2/23/10.Thanks Matt and Andy for the heads up.Not too many people were told, it was great to be able to sit and relax while drinking this. Maybe 10 other people in the bar.

Pour is a nice golden like color with a nice small but creamy looking off white head.

Aroma was amazing tons of pineapple, citrus, pine...tons of hops...and a nice sugary sweetness and a small amount of alcohol. Very tropical.The taste was nice pinapple and citrus sweetness, with a nice resiny piney bitterness and a decent amount of malt coming through. The sweetness of the malts and tropical flavors remind me of fresh Captain Lawrence DIPA.Mouthfell was smooth no evidence that this is an 11 percent beer, had 2 didn't want to be too greedy but could easily drink this all night.

Well, here it is, I finally get to try more than a tiny serving of this much-coveted beer. Poured into a tulip. I'm actually a little nervous because I know the reviews for this beer are scrutinized. While it does pour an attractive semi-clouded gold, the foam recedes rather quickly, leaving a few large bubbles on the surface.

The aroma is outstanding, it's all you ever wanted in an IPA. Apricot, orange, grapefruit, pine, a little mango. For aromatics, it easily deserves a 5.

I get a lot of intense stonefruit on the palate with a zippy pine backing. Hop character is of course very good...but I find that there's somewhat too much alcohol here. It can be harsh, on occasion devolving to what I can only describe as a peach-vodka character. That would be my knock on this beer. I don't think it needs 11%; it doesn't quite have a strong enough malt backing to mask and/or carry it, in my opinion. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I don't see how people can say the alcohol is barely noticeable....I think it's quite noticeable, and it does this particular beer a bit of a disservice in its harshness.

Feel-wise, it doesn't seem to be that well-carbonated, but it is from a growler that made it all the way to the East Coast, so I have to give it the benefit of the doubt. Plus, it has the requisite resiny feel that massively hopped beers have.

While it's got great hop character - we all know that - I honestly couldn't drink that much of this. For me, this is a sipping beer in a single 6-8oz serving. It's good in that context, I think. Not my #1 beer, though, not even my #1 DIPA. Even within RR's own stable, I think Pliny the Elder is the superior beer.

Received a growler of this from the super generous abecall98. I've missed this damn beer the past three years and I decided the 2010 version needed to be in my belly. Drank from some sort of Belgium snifter thingy with Mr. Scoobydank.

Appearance- Pours a light orange yellow with terrific clarity and a beautiful one finger off-white head. A nice collar and thin cap remains most of the beer along with plenty of lacing.Smells- Smells a lot like Elder. A lot. Loads and loads of tropical fruits including, but not limited to; peach, pineapple, grapefruit, mango and passion fruit. The alcohol is definitely noticeably in the nose, way more than Elder. Not a lot else to say. It's just a big fruity hoppy party.Taste- Oh man. So subtle and smooth with absolutely no booze what so ever, surprising considering the smell. Almost zero bitterness with a super citric and fruity hoppiness. Loads of pineapple and mango flood my taste buds but I don't get the crazy fruitiness that I got on the nose because the beer is so incredibly "balanced". A kiss of cracker in the super dry finish but it's fleeting and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The hoppy fruitiness just lingers and lingers.Mouthfeel- Nice and creamy with a slick oily feel from the ridiculously copious amount of hops. Light carbonation with a medium to below heavy feel.Drinkability- Can't believe how good this is. The only real weakness I can find in the brew is the bit of alcohol in the nose. So fruity and hoppy and nice. Man I hope I can find a growler of this every year. Thanks much Abe!

T: even better than it tastes, it's all about hops, pine, grapefruit; I think it really is liquid gold

M: a little crunchy and needly from the hops, it right away smoothes out all resin-y, oily, citrus-y, yummy yummy yummy

D: it's so good, I'd like to know how much of these I can really have. Maybe one day ...

Trust your instincts! I had a feeling Younger would make a cameo at Toronado on the first day of San Francisco Beer Week -- and I was right. My friend was even luckier. I dragged him along and this was his first DIPA. Does it get better than that? What can I say, Pliny is pure liquid gold.

Enjoyed a tulip of this on draft at Teresas's this afternoon. It was a quiet tapping, nothing advertised or broadcasted about it. Which I personally enjoyed much more so than the mayhem of other releases. Anyways, this was my first time having it.

Appearance: A nice clear golden color with a small white fluffy head on top. Everything about this beer screamed PtE on steroids and this was just the first indicator.

Aroma: Didn't even have to bring this glass to my nose. Even from afar, hop aroma's of pine, grapefruit, citrus, and pineapple with a touch of sweetness in the background.

Taste: Jesus. So much of a hop presence it's amazing, but never overbearing. Strong pine presence with some citrus and grapefruit to it. To say it had a solid malt backbone would be deceiving, it is very hop forward, but somehow there is enough malt to balance out both the hoppiness and the intense bitterness at the end. Also has just the right amount of sweetness to balance it all out. Certainly the most powerful hop experience I've had without it getting to the point of being unpleasant. Truly amazing.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied while being very smooth, crisp and refreshing. No hint whatsoever of the 11% ABV while drinking this, even as it warmed up.

Drinkability: Well, realistically it is low. This is a phenomenal beer but let's be serious, no one could drink more than 2 or 3 of these without the alcohol catching up to them.

So glad I got the chance to finally try this one. Definitely a world-class example of a double IPA. Special thanks to Matt at the Beeryard for giving me the inside info ahead of time and the whole crew at Teresas (I only vaguely know Andy) for having a very tame, relaxing and enjoyable tapping of Younger.

So friends of mine asked me what good beer I had around and I popped open a growler of younger. After half a glass, the double digit ABV frightened them off, and I was left with half a growler. I can't complain because this is a beautiful beer. It Poured a nice amber color, almost like mead, With a good solid head and an all hop aroma. The taste was exquisite with a heavy hop forward bitter blast, balanced out by a honey/nectar malt flavor. I had 3 glasses and I could drink this alll night if it were not for the alcohol hitting me after glass 3. It's an amazing beer!

I got in line more than an hour early for EBF session one to ensure I got a taste of this behemoth. That turned out to be unnecessary when it lasted more than two hours into the session. I even ended up getting a second sample.

A: Pours a beautiful golden copper color with about a finger of fluffy white head. Some lace sticks to the sides of the glass.

S: Wonderful aromas of floral grapefruit and pine meet the nose without even holding the quaff up to it. Closer inspection revealed more of the same, but even stronger. One of the most pleasing DIPAs I've ever sniffed.

T: A decent amount of sweet citrus and pine flavors up front quickly give way to an almost mouth puckering amount of bitter hops. Considering the amount of bitterness this brew produces, I'm impressed by how balanced it is. There is just enough sweetness to prevent the high bitterness from becoming unpleasant. In fact, the overall flavor is downright pleasant. However, I would not say it's THE best DIPA flavor I've ever experienced.

M: A nice medium body and incredibly smooth. I can't believe this is 11% alcohol.

D: An amazing DIPA to be sure. Considering this brew has 11% abv, it's dangerously drinkable. I would probably mistake it for something I could session if I didn't know better. Now, is it worthy of the epithet of "Best beer on earth"? I don't believe so. In fact, I think I enjoy PtE just a little more. I did a side by side comparison of the two at EBF and I truly just like the balance between sweet and bitter in PtE's flavor just a little more. IMHO, PtY is simply PtE with just a touch too many hops added. Regardless of this slight qualm, PtY is definitely an elite brew worthy of being in the same company as the world's best beers.

Thanks to my Cali connection Nick for going through a lot of trouble to pick up and send a growler of this fine nectar my way.

A-Bright, golden copper with a thin off-white head that reduced to a thin ring. Head revives nicely with a bit of swirling. Moderate, spotty lace left behind.

S-Luscious citrus (orange, tangerine, apricot) hops mixing with papaya, mango and some pineapple. Amazing, for how strong the hops are they do not overwhelm. Backing of sweetness is moderating and very pleasant. Regardless of this sweetness though the hops are, without question, the star of the show.

T-WOW! This is ALL about the hops! I am amazed at the power of the hop presence and yet it isn't overpowering or too bitter. The malt sweetness moderates the bitterness and allows the humulus lupulus beauty shine through.

M-Medium-light bodied, quite smooth and yet crisp. Can this beer really be 11%? I cannot see how...alcohol is barely noticeable!

D-From a growler, on tap, out of a cattle trough, spilled in the gutter and lapped up....it doesn't matter this beer is, without question, the KING of the West Coast hop bombs! I could drink PtY until I lapsed into a coma!

I am not the biggest fan of big, strong IPA's. They are by no means my favorite style. I do however respect them, enjoy them, and admire their sometimes complex layers of flavor.

I have heard tell of this brew for some time now, so when I worked EBF 2010, I made sure that this one was my first one, so I was clear minded enough to review it and give it a fair shake.

Pours a nice dark amber color, with nice head.

Aroma is earthy hops with hints of pine. Very refreshing and enticing to smell.

The taste is very well balanced. Sweet hints of candy or citrus, with strong hop backbone coming in the middle. Finishes sweet on the palate.

Mouthfeel and drinkability are great. For 11% abv this goes down dangerously smooth. With all the flavors in balance, you really don't notice the alochol, with very little burn in the throat. Damn near sessionable.

A very amazing beer. I was very impressed to see it lived up to the hype.

Cheers to Mikeoxlong for trading this growler, I have been wanting to try this beer for about 2 years now! Als shared among friends as it will be ahrd to finish a whole growler!

After traveling across the country, the growler opened up with a nice hiss - no carbonation lost during transit. Poured into a snifter glass, and with an aggressive pour, only an 1/2 inch head appears and leaves little lacing. Instead, swirling the glass reveals the legs of this beer, an indication of alcohol content. The brew looks great - a wonderful amber/golden color and absolutely clear.

Smell: An interesting mix of resiny hops, toasted malts, and wafts of spicy alcohol. Breathing in more I find more complex nose, minor citrus, tropical fruit, pine, spruce, and sap. The nose is does not knock me off my feet but it is complex with many different hop profiles added into the aroma. The alcohol, which not terribly noticeable, detracts from the nose only slightly and lends a very spicy character to the brew.

Taste: Holy hops! Bitterness grabs the tongue and refuses to let go! Hops are a strong and harsh when the beer is cold but tends to be smoother when the beer warms up. The bitterness lends a resinous, piney flavor to the brew. Quickly after the hops however, the malts come through very clean and fresh with caramel, breadiness, and toffee. Very well balanced for 11% ABV but the alcohol is present and leaves a prickly feeling on the sides of the tongue. Complexity for a DIPA as through the roof on this one. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and finishes rather dry, very typical of west coast DIPAs.

Overall: Pliny the Elder on steroids. Satisfies every hop heads wet dream with a doubt. My only marks on flaws would be the nose which is not as strong as other DIPAs. Gruit 16 ale comes to mind, PTY doesn't go past 16 in the nose. For 11% ABV, which is really hard to make in a DIPA, the beer is dangerously drinkable and well balanced. This beer would be perfect with 0 ABV heat more hop aroma, but is great as it stands

A- Yellow with a touch of gold; white head that fades to a thin cover.

S- Very fresh hop aroma, citrus and tropical fruits and a touch of alcohol.

T- Blast of fresh hops right off the bat, moving into a citrus and tropical fruit sweetness. I can't really detect any of the 11% abv. The hops leaves a very bitter finish, but it is an extremely clean bitterness.

M- Medium body with a low carbonation.

D- Incredibly easy drinking for 11%. I was worried when I was about to try this that it would turn out to be over-hyped; that was not the case. This beer is very worthy of being at the top of the 'best of BA' list.

Gave this one the once over at Barley and Hops in Temecula, CA. I feel priveleged to review the number one beer in the world right now.

A - Straw yellow with a thin white head that dissipates quickly leaving a thin lace behind.

S - Very complex in the nose, citrus, pineapple and a hint of alcohol. Very inviting.

T - An explosion of hops and even malt backbone, surprisingly dry for an 11% beer. Pleasantly warming with a mellow alcohol bite. The most complex IPA I have ever tried! Similar to the nose, citrus, pine, and pineapple.

M - Very dry with relatively low carbonation. Got better as it warmed in my glass.

D - I was tempted to rate this a bit higher in drinkability than 4, but at 11% I just couldn't do it. I had one and it lasted the better part of 40 minutes as I truly savored and enjoyed it.

I saw guys buying their two 10oz. pours and pounding the first one then take on the appearance of being hit with a sledge hammer. Vinny says Pliny is to be enjoyed fresh and not aged, but one of these in a session is more than enough. I heard one guy tell his wife she had to drive home after he was mid way through his second!

Finally got a chance to try the newest number one on Beeradvocate.com.

Poured from the tap into a tasting glass.

The color is a deep dark orange, is clear with a nice finger or two head. Some nice lacing on the glass.

The smell is just hoppy from the start. The is some nice grapefruit and pineapple that comes out first to welcome the aroma into sweet and delicious hop dream.

The taste is pretty hoppy but even balanced with a mellow fruity flavor. There are just a few fruits that cam into mind as I tasted this. A nice banana flavor with some grapefruit flavor mixed with a bit of melon. A wonderful fruit experience.

The feel of this beer is pretty mellow. There is a few points that come out to pronounce themselves but there seems to be less of a kick to the Younger than the Elder and I was really happy to say I was a able to take my time with this beer and enjoy it. Worth the wait and the hype.

Had a few glasses with my homey Joe. Poured from a super cool flip-top growler, it has a bright, yellow gold color with good clarity. The head is white with good retention and lacing. Carbonation held up good in the growler shipped across the country.

The aroma is nice, but not as strong as I expected. It had some citrus and general fruitiness, a bit of wood, and a lot of pine. A touch of alcohol is detected, but it is very low considering the strength of the beer. A touch of peach as it warms. Some very slight tropical notes come through to add a touch more complexity. The one thing I wanted from this beer was to be blown away by the aroma, but I've had better smelling hoppy beers before. It's a great smelling beer, but not one I'll be dreaming about.

The taste of this beer is great. It's sweet and filled with flavors of fruit gummies and bitter pine needles from the hops. Younger is very bitter, but not as much as the drier Elder. The finish has thick, malty sweetness as well as a very solid and pleasant bitterness.

Me and Joe both agreed that the mouthfeel is the highlight of this beer. Perfect as far as the style goes. It's thick and gooey, but with a clean and dry finish. It made me think of a hop flavored gummy bear. I would give it a 6, but I can't, so it gets a 5. The half growler gave me a good buzz, and was enjoyable to drink till the end.

I didn't like the beer as much as I thought I would, but that's only because the expectations were so high. A lot of people rave and rate highly of this beer for great reason. It needed a bit stronger of a hop aroma for me, but maybe the condition of a shipped growler affected that. I'd love to have it again someday.

I had several ounces of Pliny the Younger poured by Vinnie himself at the Extreme Beerfest.

The beer pours a golden honey color with a small, creamy white head on top. The aroma is all flowery and grapefruit citrus hops.

Each sip of this full bodied beer is chewy with a mild fizz on the palate. The flavor is mostly citrus and pine hop. Seems like cascade or centennial hops to me. Throughout is a nice sweet, caramel malty flavor that is a good balance to all the hops. It finishes with some alcohol and once gone the citrus hop flavor lingers on the palate.

For 11% abv this is a well balanced beer. Mostly hoppy, but the sweet malt holds its own. Definitely a sipping beer that will warm your insides after one pint.

Thanks to a very generous BA for dealing with the madness at the release and shipping through one of the worst storms DC has ever seen to get this to me. It's been a long weekend of driving up and back to Buffalo and I've been looking forward to opening this growler.

Poured from a growler into my Russian River tulip glass. Pours an amber orange color with a one finger white head. The head settled and clung to the sides of the glass where it left excellent lacing on the sides.

Aroma pretty hoppy with citrus, grapefruit, pineapple and pine all present in the nose. It also has a somewhat sweet aroma to it which I really like. It smells so fresh and delicious, it really showcases the hops better then any other beer I have had.

The taste is just as hoppy as the nose lets on. It has a good amount of pineapple and grapefruit flavors up front with more of a pine finish. There is a sweetness to it that is stronger up front and then is somewhat balanced out by the bitter pine finish. The alcohol is a little present in the finish, and it definitely gives you a warming feeling after a glass. They really do an excellent job on both this one and elder at getting that sweet flavor but also balance it out with the bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is good especially for the abv. It's a very good tasting and smooth drinking beer which makes it very drinkable. It is pretty high in alcohol content and that is quite evident after drinking one glass so there is a definite limit on how much of this I want to drink.

Infinitely huge thanks to generous Evan (beddachedda) for sending me a growler and being almost too fair in the trade when everyone else was getting shut out! You rock! Poured from the standard 2L Russian River sweet looking swingtop at Dave's place with a bunch of Chicago beer crew.

S: Smells real floral, dank, and hoppy with sweet citrus and grapefruit notes. It's not super intense like some beers I've had but quite great smelling.

T: Tastes of sweet citrus abound in this hop bomb with a nice but subtle malt backbone. Flavors of grapefruit, floral, dank, and candy like flavors are present. There's a residual bitterness (punchy but not overwhelming) that simmers down over time.

M: The first few sips are somewhat resiny or oily almost, but then quickly becomes smooth. It's full bodied and viscous on the tongue due to above average carbonation, even out of the growler. Only a slight tingle in the throat on the way down though.

D: The more I drink, the easier it is to drink. Considering the potency of this beer it is amazing how sessionable it is. I keep yearning for more and more, which makes this a dangerously delicious brew with a deceptively low alcohol flavor despite a higher ABV.

Big thanks to errantnight for hooking me up with this long time want.Growler poured into a Sam Adams Pint glass produced a finger worth of white head, that goes to a nice ring of lace that slides down the glass. The body of the brew is a clear golden yellow to orange in color.

The first thing I notice at the cracking of the growler, was the hiss and the aromas of fresh hops. Big pine and cat piss (LOL) along with citrus and grasses. There is a wide rage of hop aromas coming from this one. One of the best noses from a DIPA I have ever smelled.The flavor can best be described as Elder on steroids. I don't know if it's the malts that add balanced to this hop forward brew, or the alcohol warmth. There is a nice light orange flavor sweetness coming from the elixir. With the hop dryness holding back the alcohol warmth in the end. The brew has a medium feel to it with surprisingly good carbonation to it for a growler. A true testament to Derek stately care of this one.

Well I have a growler of this one to cherish for the whole day, and I didn't even have to stand in line at the EBF for it. I will make a few calls to see if anyone want to help finish this but I won't be to sad if I cant find anyone ;-) I do know I won't be driving too much today though. Final thoughts... As an east coast guy I wish it was a little more balanced, but it is true to form for an west coast DIPA

Was lucky enough to be at Pizza Port San Clemente on Valentines night and got talking to the bartender. Great beer there as always. Well, the bartender told me they had two five gallon kegs waiting to go on tap. He didn't tell me it would be on at opening, but he also didn't think they would put it on later in the day.

So this guy spent the night sleeping in front of the door waiting for them to open. The wife and I walked in and gave the secret handshake and were presented with two, maybe 8 or 10 oz. pours of this luscious, amazing elixir.

I drank my first in less than two minutes because I didn't want them to run out. (There were only three other people in the bar). I was able to have four myself as well as the four my wife had.

I am very much able to handle strong beers, but let me tell you, these four youngers really did a number on my Monday.Then I think back and wonder if the two jack and cokes I had before PP had anything to do with it.

Overall, I will say that this batch is as good as any of the others I have tried. It goes down well, and the alcohol is virtually unnoticed until a few hours later when it's time for a nap.